A silent gap: underrepresentation of Latin American patients in pivotal genitourinary and skin cancer trials.
Background Latin America bears a growing burden of genitourinary (GU) and cutaneous malignancies but remains underrepresented in clinical trials that shape global standards of care. This underrepresentation raises ethical concerns and limits the generalizability of trial findings. We evaluated Latin...
| Publicado en: | Oncologist Vol. 31; no. 8; pp. 1 - 4 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Oxford University Press / USA
Aug2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=196038369&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 196038369 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 10837159 IJ7 jtl: Oncologist issn: 10837159 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Aug2026 vid: 31 iid: 8 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 196038369 196038369 196038369 10.1093/oncolo/oyag259 196038369 ppf: 1 ppct: 3 formats: tig: atl: A silent gap: underrepresentation of Latin American patients in pivotal genitourinary and skin cancer trials. aug: au: Martinez-Castaneda, Erika Adriana Overgaard, Ava Isabella De Pellegrin Maselli-Schoueri, Jean Henri Bell, Jennifer A H Sridhar, Srikala S affil: Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada sug: subj: Cancer Patients Psychosocial Factors Urogenital Neoplasms Skin Neoplasms Patient Participation Evaluation Research Subject Recruitment Evaluation Clinical Trials Human Latin America Research Ethics Melanoma Ethnic Groups Descriptive Statistics Brazil Argentina Chile Mexico Colombia Comparative Studies Serial Publications Health Status Disparities Minority Groups Medical Practice Geographic Factors Research Subjects ab: Background Latin America bears a growing burden of genitourinary (GU) and cutaneous malignancies but remains underrepresented in clinical trials that shape global standards of care. This underrepresentation raises ethical concerns and limits the generalizability of trial findings. We evaluated Latin American (LATAM) representation in pivotal GU and skin cancer trials and explored barriers to equitable inclusion. Methods We reviewed pivotal phase II and III trials in advanced GU and cutaneous malignancies (melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers) published between 2015 and 2024. Extracted data included trial site distribution, geographic representation, and ethnicity reporting. Results A total of 46 pivotal trials (29 GU and 17 skin cancer trials), representing 38 900 patients, were included. LATAM trial sites were present in 44 studies; however, only 25 trials reported enrollment of Hispanic/Latino patients, totaling 1303 patients (3.35%). Representation across LATAM was highly concentrated in a small number of countries, including Brazil (16 trials), Argentina (14), Chile (13), Mexico (12), and Colombia (6). Participation was greater in GU trials compared with skin cancer trials. Reporting transparency was limited: Hispanic/Latino representation was reported in only 2 main publications, 5 supplementary appendices, and 23 ClinicalTrials.gov records. Conclusions Only 6.3% of participants in pivotal GU and skin cancer trials were from Latin America. Limited infrastructure, regulatory barriers, and restricted research investment likely contribute to this disparity. Improving equitable representation will require intentional trial design, stronger regional investment, and policies that move beyond nominal participation toward meaningful inclusion. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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